BELL Bay in northern Tasmania has again been deemed Australia’s leading container terminal, in a report from the World Bank that seemingly places much value on export and transhipment.
The Container Port Performance Index 2025 was released this week, comparing performance based upon vessel time in port.
In the Australian context, Bell Bay (171) came up tops, followed by Melbourne (182) and Townsville (291). Meanwhile the port at Fuzhou in China’s Fujian Province, came in number one in the world.
Now in its sixth year, the CPPI aims to allow policymakers, port authorities, operators, and development partners to observe how port performance evolves, responds to external shocks, and compares with peer groups.
According to the report, the global average CPPI in 2025 showed a slight deterioration relative to the 2024 benchmark, indicating longer vessel time in port on average.
This overall movement was said to reflect a combination of regional patterns.
Ports in upper-middle-income and high-income economies maintained shorter turnaround times on average, backed by stronger infrastructure, higher crane intensity, more advanced digital systems, and better coordination among stakeholders.
In a statement to DCN, Ports Australia noted comments from World Bank global lead, maritime transport and ports, Jan Hoffmann, that importing ports tended to have lower CPPIs than exporting ports.
“As the World Bank in this report acknowledges, ‘most of the top-ranked ports are leading export and transshipment hubs’,” PA stated.
Ports Australia chief executive Mike Gallacher told DCN it was “evident from the report that the world’s importing ports are captured by similar lower rating under the CPPI due to the nature of their role in the global supply chain”.
“Whilst looking solely at ship turnaround times, the report does not capture data on the landside efficiencies and investment that many of these global importing ports, Australian ports and stevedore terminals included, have made into their domestic supply chain,” Mr Gallacher said.
| Port | Country | Ranking |
| Wellington | New Zealand | 87 |
| Noumea | New Caledonia |
165 |
| Bell Bay | Australia | 171 |
| Melbourne | Australia |
182 |
| Auckland | New Zealand | 204 |
| Lyttelton | New Zealand | 254 |
| Port Moresby | PNG | 260 |
| Lae | PNG | 284 |
| Townsville | Australia | 291 |
| Tauranga | New Zealand | 295 |
| Adelaide | Australia | 297 |
| Brisbane | Australia | 301 |
| Sydney (Port Botany) | Australia | 351 |
| Fremantle | Australia | 366 |
What do you think? Has the World Bank nailed it? Or is the report wide of the mark? Post your comments below or email them to editorial@thedcn.com.au